Tomlinson was a right-handed batsman who played mostly in the middle- to lower-order but occasionally was used as an opener, and a right-arm leg-break and googly bowler. He made his first-cl...Full profile

Tomlinson was a right-handed batsman who played mostly in the middle- to lower-order but occasionally was used as an opener, and a right-arm leg-break and googly bowler. He made his first-class cricket debut for Rhodesia in 1927–28 and played intermittently for the same side until 1947–48, also playing a single match in 1928–29 for Border. His first-class cricket was restricted, however, by the limited number of matches played by Rhodesia: the side did not contest the Currie Cup competition between 1932–33 and the end of the Second World War.

Tomlinson's one Test appearance was at Trent Bridge, in the opening Test match, when he took 0 for 38 off 10 overs in an England total of 384 for 7 december (Wyatt, the captain, 149). His only innings amounted to 9, bowled by Nichols. The nuggety little leg-spinner Balaskas struck form before the Lord's Test, taking 4 for 55 and 8 for 99 against Yorkshire at Bramall Lane, and took Tomlinson's place in the Test side. The decision was fully justified when Balaskas (9 for 103 in the match) bowled South Africa to an historic first victory on English soil, capitalizing on Cameron's 90 and Mitchell's 164 not out on a difficult pitch.

Tomlinson and Cameron contracted enteric fever on the voyage home, and Cameron died from the illness some weeks later. During his long first-class career he scored 912 runs (16.88) and captured 156 wickets (28.32). With the passing of Eric Rowan and Denis Tomlinson in recent months, only three members of the triumphant 1935 team remain: Xenophon Balaskas, Bob Crisp and Bruce Mitchell.

Illness aside, Rhodesia's limited first-class programme included only two further matches for Tomlinson before the Second World War, both of them against the 1938–39 England team. After the war, however, Rhodesia re-entered the Currie Cup competition and Tomlinson played a full season in 1946–47 in which he took the best bowling figures of his career: six wickets for 56 runs in the match against Western Province. He continued to play in a few matches in 1947–48, but then retired.